8 Benefits of Working with a Healthcare Recruiting Partner

Today’s healthcare workplace calls for a new playbook for hiring. It’s just a different landscape now, making it tougher to find and hire the right-fit medical and healthcare professionals. Sure, the traditional methods of posting ads and conducting interviews can still be effective. But to really find the candidate gems you’re looking for, with all the right skills and medical expertise your organization needs, it’s best to have a healthcare recruiting partner.

Here are some of the peak advantages of working with the right team of professionals when augmenting your healthcare teams. If you’ve been unconvinced or on the fence about working with a recruiter, keep reading. These are the benefits you might decide you can’t live without in today’s hiring landscape.

1. Healthcare Recruiting Partners Have Better Tools

As an HR professional or hiring manager within your healthcare company or practice, you won’t always have the very latest tools and resources available for finding, vetting, and hiring candidates. But when you work with a healthcare recruiter, you’ll be able to leverage all the best tools needed to source experienced clinical professionals. These might include strategies or software solutions you didn’t know existed or couldn’t justify investing in yourself.

2. Recruiting Firms Will Increase Productivity

Trying to verify references, confirm certifications, and follow up on listed experience, you’ll find yourself spending an awful lot of time with each potential candidate. When you work with a healthcare recruiting partner, those professionals can handle all of those pre-interview vetting requirements on your behalf, only submitting qualified applicants for each role. Imagine how productive you’ll be when you save all that time and effort!

3. Access to a Broader Pool of Healthcare Professionals

Across your own networks and various job boards, you’ll find you only have access to a limited number of active candidates. But when you choose to partner with a healthcare recruiting partner, you’ll be able to broaden your horizons to include an even bigger pool of active and passive professionals considering a career move. Cast your net wider with the right recruiting firm and have access to an even more diverse collective of potential new hires.

4. Hiring Flexibility

Not every role you’ll need to fill will be the same. Positions and requirements will vary from C-Level professionals to entry-level openings. And working with a great healthcare recruiting partner will allow you to leverage the flexibility needed to accommodate these job hiring variances. Whether you need temporary placement now or more perm placement later, the agency can supply you with qualified candidates. Even part and full-time roles are easily filled when you work with the right partner.

5. Faster Placements

Because you’ll have great access to candidates, pre-vetted and ready for evaluation and interview, you can move through the interviewing process faster with more precise hiring results. Avoid wasting months trying to fill an open healthcare position you can fill in a matter of weeks. With the right healthcare recruiting partner in your corner, you’ll find out how quickly you can fill your openings ongoing.

6. Cost Savings

How much money and how many resources are you currently spending on ads, pre-screening measures, and applicant tracking systems? Partnering with a healthcare recruiter means alleviating these and other costs associated with the time-consuming steps in hiring practices. And even more costly can be the misstep of hiring the wrong-fit healthcare candidate. It’s an unavoidable risk in any hiring scenario. But poor-fit candidates are more easily avoided with the right recruiting partner providing you with top-notch candidates for consideration.

7. Filling More Technical or Skilled Positions

Not all agency partners are created equal. So, you’ll want to be diligent about choosing the right firm to help with your healthcare hiring. But when you do find the best partner, you’ll have an easier time with those hard-to-fill positions that require more in-depth expertise, more technical knowledge, or more precise skills. Even the hardest-to-fill openings can be a breeze when you have the right team of professionals helping you source qualified candidates.

8. The Growth and Innovation Aspect

When you’re able to move quickly to fill new healthcare roles and introduce more qualified candidates to the team, your healthcare organization or private practice can grow more quickly. You’ll also be able to contribute in an innovative way, bringing in talent with cutting-edge training and expertise. As a hiring manager, you can work with an agency partner to not only make light work of openings but also help your organization grow and scale with more services, better care, and innovative new insights.

Now that you recognize all the benefits of working with an agency to help with your healthcare recruiting, you’re ready to find the right partner. Look no further than InSync Healthcare Recruiters! Contact our team and put all these advantages to work for you! From time-saving methods and cost-saving benefits to quick placements and incredible candidates, we can help you do all of the above and more!

5 Red Flags to Look for During the Interview Process

As a recruiter or HR professional within the healthcare industry, you are responsible for finding, attracting, and onboarding top talent to your organization. But not all candidates will be a good fit. And you know how daunting it can be to find the best-fit team member that possesses proven skill sets, great experience, and a complimentary attitude to the rest of the staff. 

During your interview process, whether it’s in-person or via video, you do your best to spot indicators that a potential candidate isn’t going to be ideal for the role or your healthcare organization. It’s tough, though, especially these days. While most applicants are honest and forthcoming about their objectives and experience, some will try to paint a picture to impress but lack the ability to follow through in the role. To avoid extending an offer to the wrong healthcare professional, here are some of the red flags to help you separate the mediocre from the great hire prospects. 

1. Defining Your Red Flags Prior to the Interview

Before interviewing, establish a set of benchmarks or red flags and definitions for yourself to reference. A red flag for you might not be a red flag for another hiring manager. And before committing to a list of deal-breakers, make sure you’re being fair and in line with the best hiring practices, free of discrimination or bias. Typically, a red flag will represent a lack in core competency or a flaw that cannot be overcome with training or coaching. Some of the best healthcare candidates out there might fall short of your prerequisites for the role but are entirely coachable or available for training to become the top-notch performer you want. As you begin your interviewing process, remember to be mindful of spotting potential red flags but also flexible with those candidates who could still be viable prospects.

2. Introductory Red Flags

There are some basic, more introductory red flags to look for during the interview process that might indicate a candidate does not possess the confidence, knowledge, or skills needed for the job. A lack of eye contact, even in online interview settings, might be an indication the person is uncomfortable or not forthcoming. Candidates who are late to the interview or unorganized to participate in the interview may not be serious about the position and could be just as tardy and unorganized on the job. 

3. Red Flags on the Resume or CV

When delving into the resume and work history, there will be some red flags, as well. Gaps in employment may be entirely reasonable, so ask about them. How the candidate responds will dictate whether those gaps are concerning or not. Verify the certifications, education, and training by inquiring directly and even asking for documentation. It’s easy to add credentials to a resume, especially if your ad for the position listed them as prerequisites. But if you have doubts, confirm everything before extending an offer. If anything on the resume looks out of order with the timeline or experience, ask for clarification. Good fit candidates will have justifiable responses while others will not.

4. Red Flags During Interview Discussion

Some of the most significant red flags will present themselves during the interview discussion. Be mindful of how a healthcare applicant responds to your questions about experience, work history, and reasons for leaving. If there is talk of gossip or disagreements with previous employers, the candidate might not be a good fit. You can also gauge whether or not the candidate researched your organization prior to the interview and has a clear reason for wanting the role you’re offering. Beware, too, of the overconfident candidates who describe themselves above their capability. And not having clear career goals can also be a red flag that the individual is more interested in a “job” and not a long-term career fit.

5. Company Culture Red Flags

There are other soft skills you’ll want to look for as they relate to hiring a company culture match for the role. Candidates who have a history of not getting along with managers or subordinates might not be right for your teams. Pay attention to the types of questions the candidate asks of you, as well. You can spot someone who’s more concerned about paid time off and scheduling than working with a team of professionals to improve healthcare services, too. You’ll want to find candidates who are coachable, reliable, and honest. So, look for indicators that might reinforce those strengths.

In today’s healthcare hiring landscape, it’s getting harder and harder to discern the authentic candidates from the inauthentic, the skilled from the unskilled, and the honest from the dishonest. Consider some of these red flags as indicators or at least prompts to ask more probing questions during your process. And when you need additional help with your healthcare hiring and onboarding, let the professionals at InSync Healthcare Recruiters step in to help!

 

6 Tips to Help You Successfully Prepare for a Full Day of Virtual Interviews

You have a full day of virtual interviews scheduled, and you’re excited to explore the next round of candidates who might be a good fit for your role. However, there is even more to consider in properly preparing for a solid day of back-to-back interviews, especially if they’re online. Missing a step could translate to a poor first impression or missed hiring opportunity. For any healthcare hiring managers who are interviewing multiple candidates, this is the preparation to-do list you need to see. With a full day of virtual interviews, these are the tips to help ensure you’re at your best with each candidate. 

1. Preparing Your Technology

If you have a full day of virtual interviews coming up, you’ll want to take the time now to verify your internet connection and equipment. Find a more public space where stronger internet connections exist, if necessary. Test your earbuds and perform a few test calls with friends or colleagues to ensure audio, video, and web connections are strong. And verify that your onscreen name, which will display to healthcare candidates, is a professional moniker or your company title. If you’re concerned about a failing piece of equipment, now’s the time to arrange for backups, including batteries for your laptop, wi-fi connection, webcams, and audio devices.

2. Preparing Yourself if You’re Remote

Once you’re certain everything is in order with your tech, it’s time to consider how to prepare yourself and your virtual interview space. Should you be conducting interviews virtually from your on-site office, you might not have much to prepare. Your office may already be a visibly professional space. However, you might be inclined to wear sweats under the desk if you’re working remotely to conduct interviews. So make sure you’re in professional attire above the desk. And pay special attention to what’s visible behind you so as not to give the impression that you’re messy or unprofessional in any way. It’s also recommended that you take whatever steps necessary to prevent distractions. So, if you’re concerned about noisy little ones or Fido barking, make plans for a sitter or kennel day spa for the day.

3. Organizing a Playbook for Each Virtual Interview

The day before your full day of virtual interviews, take the time to create a playbook for each healthcare candidate on the docket. Print out documents to have in front of you, including the job descriptions, resumes and CVs. Have any correspondence leading up to the interview, and the names and pertinent details for each, as well. You don’t want to look unprepared or mix up details between candidates. The best way to prevent mishaps, like talking about the wrong role or addressing the applicant by the wrong name, is to have a full stack of separate reference materials for each individual. 

4. Organizing Your Interview Notes

Take your organization a step further by also drafting a full list of questions you have for each candidate. Even if you feel you have questions committed to memory, it’s a good idea to keep reminders on paper in front of you. And be sure you have a few pens available so you can take notes and write responses for each interview separately. Additionally, have your calendar or day planner nearby, either physically or digitally, so you can efficiently schedule follow-up interviews or next steps during each virtual interview.

5. The Confidence Checklist for Every Virtual Interview

To prepare to make the very best first impression from your first virtual interview through to your last one of the day, it might help to keep a list of reminders nearby and off-screen to remind yourself of these confidence-emitting behaviors.

Posture Matters: One study showed that 33% of hiring managers admitted to coming to a hiring conclusion within the first 90 seconds of engagement. Imagine candidates will make similar assumptions about hiring managers. Within those critical greeting and introduction moments of each virtual interview, make sure you display strong posture and inviting body language.

Engage with Body Movement: During each of your virtual interviews, make sure you’re using positive body language, including head nods and smiling, to convey your attentiveness. If you want top talent to consider joining your healthcare organization’s ranks, they’ll need to feel prioritized from the first moment of engagement.

Eye Contact Online: Eye contact builds trust with any engagement. When you’re interviewing virtually, make a conscious effort to look directly at your webcam from time to time, not just the screen, to simulate engaging eye contact.

6. Refreshing Between Interviews

Whether you have one set of back-to-back virtual interviews or a whole day of them, you’ll want to be diligent about managing your time in between calls. And should one or more of them run over, you’ll need to prepare to quickly make smart use of your remaining time. Take the time in between interviews to stand up and stretch, use the restroom, and grab a fresh drink before your next call. If your interviews are scheduled to run through lunchtime, it’s a good idea to grab a snack in between calls, too, so your rumbling stomach doesn’t interrupt an important conversation.

Before you tackle a full day of virtual interviews, consider reviewing these tips to ensure you make your best first impression and are totally prepared to put your best foot forward. And if you still need help scheduling a full day of healthcare job interviews, let InSync Healthcare Recruiters help!

10 Interview Questions Every Hiring Manager Should Be Asking in Today’s Environment

As a healthcare hiring manager, you are confident that your interviewing and onboarding process is solid. But today’s hiring environment is very different. And working experiences candidates want to share with you represent new skills and potential setbacks. So, as you recruit for your healthcare business, it’s worth reworking your interview questions. These are the interview questions every healthcare hiring manager should be asking.

1. Why Do You Want to Work with Our Healthcare Organization?

In the healthcare industry, your candidates already present a roster of impressive credentials. And the industry as a whole is hiring, desperate for top-notch candidates to join their ranks. What you want to know is why this particular candidate has chosen to apply with your organization. The responses will be telling to you in that they should highlight the candidate’s motivation for a career change. You must be offering an opportunity they don’t currently have. And that will help you with future job opening posts, too.

2. What Do You Know About Our Company?

If you’re interviewing a candidate who’s open to any role with any healthcare entity, they probably haven’t done their homework. And if they aren’t willing to learn about what specialty care you offer or what credentials your organization has, it could be a sign of cutting corners, desperation, or lack of thorough attention to details.

3. Can You Name One Essential Skill You’ve Learned in Your Current Position?

This is a great interview question that will demonstrate a candidate’s ability to show a willingness to learn. An applicant with lots of improved skills to share will be an eager-to-learn professional on the job. Someone who struggles to answer this question might be of the mindset that there isn’t much else to learn. And you probably don’t want a know-it-all among the ranks.

4. If Hired, What Would You Expect to Accomplish within Your First 30 Days?

Expectation interview questions are essential. Managing role expectations can be hard, especially in today’s ever-changing healthcare landscape. However, take the time to address this during the interview so you can dispel myths or confirm an applicant’s viability as an addition to your staff.

5. What Do You Do When You’re Not Working?

You don’t want to pry into someone’s personal life, but the hobbies question is still essential. Today’s healthcare professionals are experiencing burnout at a much higher rate. Probing a candidate about off-time activities will tell you how well they’re handling the work-life balance. A workaholic might be only changing jobs to avoid burnout. A well-balanced individual demonstrates an ability to manage the stress of the job with healthy time off.

6. How Would You Address an Underperforming Colleague?

Asking someone about their ability to work within a team environment is no longer a precise enough interview question. Everyone will tell you they can work within a collaborative environment. But inquiring about how a candidate would handle an underperforming colleague can lead to a host of other questions, including:

 

  • How often should someone be applauded for great work?
  • How would you handle ABC situations?
  • What would be your first response to XYZ scenarios?

The candidate’s response to these hiring manager questions will reveal just how team-centric someone really is on the job.

7. What Skill Would You Like to Develop More?

Can an applicant be honest about areas of improvement? Everyone can stand to get better at something. And how a healthcare professional responds will tell you everything you need to know about strengths, weaknesses, and integrity.

8. Can You Describe a Recent Problem You Encountered and How You Solved It?

When someone solves a problem, like really solves it, they’ll be able to tell you exactly what they did to overcome the challenge. How your candidate responds will tell you if they’ve actually solved a problem or not. And it will also provide insights into the type of day-to-day challenges someone is accustomed to facing in past and current roles.

9. What Other Job Openings Are You Considering or Interested in Pursuing?

This question isn’t so much about discovering other healthcare organizations a candidate is applying for or niche segments. It can be insightful, however, if the applicant is open to considering both a management or leadership role AND a more entry-level role. If the responses suggest roles are similar across the board, it’s a good indication the person is well-versed and confident in fulfilling the duties of those roles.

10. Can You Define Personal and Professional Success for Yourself?

This interview question is similar to the expectations line of questioning. However, it can be helpful to learn more about a candidate’s motivation for success. Goal setting characteristics demonstrate ongoing betterment and performance. And you can inquire about small goals and larger, long-term goals to learn more about a candidate’s “magic wand” career path.

Consider incorporating some of these interview questions in your practice’s hiring process. And if you’re still struggling to find the best-fit healthcare candidates, let Insync Healthcare Recruiters help!

The Importance of Post-Interview Follow-Up

Whether you’re a recent healthcare grad out hunting for the first big career role, or a seasoned healthcare professional making a change, there are some reminders that warrant repeating. You know that landing the interview is only half the battle. Great candidates can improve their chances of hire by executing proper post-interview follow-up efforts. Today, we’ll share some of those gentle reminders, including the overall importance of the post-interview follow-ups, along with tips for making your best impression when you do.

What a Proper Post-Interview Follow-Up Can Do for You

There are some obvious benefits of executing a post-interview follow-up message, especially for candidates within the healthcare job space. You’re in a care-based industry. Follow-up demonstrates you care about the process, in turn demonstrating you have the outlook likely needed to perform the job. If done correctly, your post-interview follow-up message reminds the hiring manager that you’re a strong consideration for the role. Here are other important benefits of making the extra effort to reach out post-interview.

Appreciation and Soft Skills

Reaching out to connect after the interview also provides you an opportunity to thank the interviewer for their time and consideration. It shows you have manners, professionalism, and people skills. Your resume might be jam-packed with education, qualifications, and credentials. But if you lack the soft skills needed for some roles, your resume might be put in the do-not-hire pile. Following up allows you another chance to prove you have those must-have soft skills.

Enthusiasm for the Role

How you follow up after the interview can demonstrate to the hiring manager just how enthusiastic you are about the opportunity. Be lively but not overly excited. Be inquisitive without prying. And look for ways to express your anticipation in learning more or taking the next steps in the hiring process.

A reminder of Your Candidacy

Some healthcare hiring managers are bogged down with more than just filling the role you have in mind. A well-placed follow-up initiative can be a great reminder. Bring your name back up to the top of their minds with a brief check-in and offer to connect for another interview. It’s that top-of-mind awareness that can make the difference between you getting the callback first or tenth in the line.

Various Methods of Post-Interview Follow-Up Initiatives

How you follow up after your interview can also help set you apart from other candidates in the running. A generic email, for example, will certainly check the box. But it won’t likely make a huge impact in terms of great impressions. Here are some ways to execute the post-interview follow-up with unique differentiating byproducts in mind.

The Old-Fashioned Card

Don’t be afraid to polish up your handwriting skills to draft a brief thank you card to put in the mail. While considered to be an outdated form of communication, there is something more personal about getting a piece of mail, specifically addressed to you with a signature. And it’s that personalization that will set you apart from others applying for the healthcare job.

An Email That Stands Apart from the Rest

Email is probably the best way to connect with a healthcare hiring manager. But don’t end up in the spam folder, and don’t copy and paste a canned message read about online. Instead, think customization with simple and easy-to-consume statements. Make your subject line noticeable with short, concise statements, including the title of the position for which you’re applying. Avoid casual tones. This is the place for personality-infused professionalism. Read it aloud and verify it would make sense to say to the hiring manager directly before you hit send.

A Follow Up Phone Call

If you’re in healthcare, you’re in the people business. Conversation is king. So, it’s no surprise that a phone call post-interview is a pretty solid move. Where some healthcare job candidates slip up is with what happens next. Be prepared to have the conversation before you call. And know ahead of time what you plan to say should you get voicemail.

What Every Post-Interview Follow-Up Conversation Should Have

Regardless of which method you prefer to use when following up after your interview, make sure the message, written or verbal, contains the same few key points.

  • Emphasize your qualifications.
  • Promote yourself as the ideal candidate.
  • Fix anything that went wrong during the interview.
  • Say anything you forgot to mention in your interview.
  • Say thank you.
  • Restate your contact information.

After you’ve had the interview, don’t presume you’re done. Now it’s time to schedule your prompt post-interview follow-up initiatives. Every scenario is different. And the healthcare hiring manager may be able to outline a timeframe to which you should adhere. But be sure to include those follow-up efforts, especially if you’re keenly intent on landing the role.

As always, for more interviewing best practices, or if you need help with finding your dream healthcare role, let InSync Healthcare Recruiters be your guide!

6 Signs You’re Ready to Partner with a Healthcare Recruiter

You’ve realized in your role as a healthcare hiring professional, there comes a time when you need a little help. And while your efforts to fill critical openings with your practice or healthcare facility have been diligent, you’re just not getting the results you once did. It may be time to partner with a healthcare recruiter.

To really know if you’ve reached that point, there are a few signs and red flags to look out for as you go. The healthcare applicant landscape has changed, and so has the industry as a whole. Navigating these changes might require the help of a healthcare recruiter who knows precisely how to adapt and bridge those gaps between open roles and top-notch candidate professionals.

1. Not Enough Time to Follow-Through on All Healthcare Recruiting Steps

You’re not only tasked with filling critical healthcare openings. There is a broad range of behind-the-scenes work that goes into the process before extending an offer. You post job openings across a variety of listing sites. You respond to email inquiries and conduct pre-screening interviews. Then you might handle calling the candidates’ references and juggle scheduling secondary interviews, as well. All of these steps and necessary follow-ups require increased time and effort that you might not have available. If you’re crunched for time or, worse yet, feel like you’re cutting corners on some of these processes, it’s probably time to consider partnering with a healthcare recruiter. 

2. Great Candidates Are Not Accepting Your Offers

Job offers may be rejected for a variety of reasons. For example, some healthcare candidates reject them due to the location, hours, or commute. Of course, it’s possible that all three apply. But the problem is that you may not know why quality professionals are turning down your offers. Healthcare recruitment firms can help shed light on these situations since they obtain information from both parties in order to match high-quality applicants in the right position. Partnering with a healthcare recruiter means better understanding the candidate side of the proposition. And recruiters can narrow down the candidate selection to those who are best-fit professionals.

3. You Have an ASAP Job Opening to Fill

Right now, it might feel as though every healthcare opening you have is mission-critical to fill. But there are just some positions that are more demanding than others. If there is a job opening that your office or facility considers to be a top priority, a healthcare recruiter can be a great solution. Healthcare recruiters will likely have candidate pools available that you traditionally wouldn’t have access to yourself. Professional recruiters with niches in healthcare can also be incredible resources to help with candidate vetting, sourcing, and scheduling.

4. Your Clinic or Healthcare Facility Needs Specialized Expertise

If you have a job opening that requires a niche-specific skill or specialized expertise, it might take you weeks or months to even source a single candidate. Niche skilled professionals in healthcare are also likely passive candidates, meaning they’re currently employed but open to new opportunities. Instead of trying to find that needle in the healthcare haystack on your own, turn to the healthcare recruiter for help. Chances are, a healthcare recruiting professional will have the network and resources to help you identify and connect with those passive candidates who possess the unique skills your facility needs right now.

5. Hiring Inconsistencies Are Prevalent 

If you’re experiencing hiring inconsistencies in your physician’s office or healthcare facility, it may be a sign you’re ready to partner with a healthcare recruiter. Inconsistencies might include some pre-screening steps for certain roles, but not all roles. They can present in the form of gaps in onboarding or job listing marketing efforts, too. These types of inconsistencies can negatively impact your organization’s brand based on hit-and-miss discrepancies or infrequent online visibility. Having a recruiting partner means having a constant presence in the hiring environment, online and among candidate professionals, whether you need them or not. And this consistency, especially over time, can make finding and hiring the professionals you need much quicker.

6. You Are Struggling to Attract Candidates Beyond Your Backyard

Sometimes, regionally-based facilities that do great with attracting new talent locally will struggle to recruit abroad. And by abroad, we mean outside of the immediate community or even state. There could be incredible candidates for your healthcare roles out there you can’t reach simply because of your more localized efforts. If your candidate pools and healthcare applicants seem to all be from your own neck of the woods, you might be ready to partner with a healthcare recruiter. Professional recruiters have connections coast to coast with thousands of top-talent medical specialists, nurses, doctors, and surgeons. Tap into a greater pool of hiring potential with the right healthcare recruiting partner.

If any of these hiring scenarios resonate with you, let InSync Healthcare Recruiters help! Our professional recruiters specialize in filling critical healthcare-related roles and can help you bridge your gaps, as well!